Thiruvananthapuram: Indian Navy has clarified that Pinarayi Vijayan’s allegations that the defence forces sought payment for their services during the floods is not right. 

Anil Chawla, vice-admiral of the Indian Navy said that they have not asked the state to pay the bill. He said that such reports are baseless. He was talking to reporters during press meet in Kochi.

"Pinarayi is trying to get sympathy by giving out fake news, but once again he proved that he is wrong," said Amal Krishna, an RSS activist.

“The exact amount to be given is Rs 33,79,77,250. This amount together with the cost of ration materials allotted by the Centre will sum up to Rs 290.74 crore, which should be paid to the Centre. Even if we spend the whole of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), it would be impossible to pay this amount. We have received only Rs 987.73 crore towards the fund. Out of this, Rs 586.04 crore has been spent. We can clear all financial liabilities only if we get Rs 706 cr more,” the chief minister had said in the Assembly.

Earlier, Vijayan and his Cabinet had taken the decision to compensate the family of late NCP leader Uzhavoor Vijayan in July last year, a few days after his demise. Rs 25 lakh was sanctioned and released from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) with no prior, formal application, conveniently calling it 'confidential'. Misuse of CMDRF is not new in Kerala. When cyclone Ockhi hit Kerala in 2017, Vijayan courted controversy by undertaking a chopper ride by diverting some of the relief funds.